270 replies to this topic

[Propnut]

um...ok.

Anyway, back on topic....again....

I made several improvements tonight, but I will wait until the paint is dry and the parts are installed before taking pictures.

I added two upper control panels to house light and PC controls.

Also added a housing for the mini monitor on the left side, this angles the monitor toward the pilot.

Installed the Cougar MFD in the keyboard rotating thing-a-ma-jig. (What should I call that thing?).

Anyway, pictures tomorrow.

[Tigerwolf]

Wow, this is incredible and if I could get the wife to let me and if I had the money, I would soooo build one.

[Mr 144]

Excellent Read Pronut.  I love your industrious solutions to internet access

I'm a huge Sim fan, and love my Joysticks, Wheels, Pedals, Throttle, SpaceNavigator, Etc, so don't take this next part wrong, But, now that the NDA is lifted, have you thought about the competetive viability of non-mouse incorporated control?  I tried for quite a while to get used to a HoTaS set-up, but found it so cumbersome, I've gone to a HoTaM setup with much greater success and enjoyment.  I still have some immersion using the throttle.

I do want to thank you for all of your reference links, as I've begun design of a "super-throttle" for my left hand.  Originally, I was going to cannibalize my x52 for the parts and driver software, but your thread and links has opened my eyes to teensy++USB instaed.  Thanx.

Mr 144

Edited by Mr 144, 06 October 2012 - 10:33 AM.

[Propnut]

Tigerwolf: I would sooo help you if you lived local
Mr 144,
Now that the NDA is lifted I can say that my setup is more comfortable and gives me much more control than does a mouse setup.
I use TrackIR to control my torso and pitch movement, with the profile that I have setup it is very precise. The fact that I can then keep my hands on the stick for turning (wish they would hurry up with analog turning rather than digital on/off) and my throttle for...well velocity and direction
Moving my head is actually much more natural than moving a mouse (think Firefox movie in the 80s).
Glad the Teensy ++ 2.0 information was helpful, but praise should go to Foust for turning us all toward the Teensy++.
By the way, this is all typed from the pit
Propnut

[Atlessa]

I'm a single girl.

If I ever come across a single man building something like this... I will instantly marry him!



In other words: do want. (but can't ever afford )

[Propnut]

Not a very good picture but it illustrates the latest additions to the pit:

I added two switch panels above the monitor, an angled housing for the secondary monitor, MFDs to the center rotating control panel and not pictured is a cut down center pedestal. There will be another angled housing for a touch screen tablet on the right.

[Cochise]

People are nuts! and thank god for it!

[Propnut]

Umm...thanks...I think...

[Jack Fortune]

Ok, I just read this entire thread in 15 minutes and all I can say is if you ever want to sell this (or copies) let me know. Also a michigan resident (similarities end there as I am not a teacher of anything but pain) so I can come and pick it up. If my truck isn't big enough I can get one. lol. Awesome job on all of this. Please keep posting.

[Propnut]

PM inbound

[repete]

Nice one Propnut.

Stupid question #1 - I can't remember if you've said already, but have you had a game in there yet?

Stupid question #2 - Also can't remember if you've already stated...The smaller screen you have there. Is that one of those USB attached screens? The reason I ask is, prior to building my simpit I had three screens running. 1 x laptop screen and 2 x screens driven by a Matrox DualHead2Go off the VGA port. When I switched to 3 external screens, I wasn't able to do that as I can only use the DVI or VGA, not both at the same time. So I switched to a USB to video adaptor, BUT after I did that, when the game switches from window to full screen when using the USB to video adaptor, the screens flicker on and off several times over 10 seconds, and then I get a crash to desktop. Without the USB to video adaptor that doesn't happen. I'm currently running the game windowed to get around this. :-( Thinking about submitting a bug report for this.

Not stupid question #1 - Any thoughts on what you're going to have going on your tablet screen? For my 10" tablet above my main screen, I ended up grabbing a copy of this, and editing it down a little so it loops nicely (Sans audio).

Edited by repete, 07 October 2012 - 08:19 PM.

[Propnut]

Repete: Before the lifting of the NDA I could not really mention it but yes, I have had many drops in the mechpit.

I use the secondary monitor port on the GT560Ti video card for the 8" VGA screen. I am not sure which video card that you are using but you can get an AMD5000-7000 series card which will run three monitors natively (I have had several from the 5850 through the 7980. Or you can get an Nvidia 600 series which will also run three monitors natively (currently have a GTX680 in my desktop PC). You can add further VGA/DVI space by adding a second GPU and using those monitor ports as well.

I am going to use maps of the various drop zones on my tablet. This way I can manipulate them (move, zoom, etc) by touch.

Every screen and button/switch that I add to the pit will have function.

Edited by Propnut, 08 October 2012 - 03:50 AM.

[Urban UK]

Concerning tablet pc's theres actually a few apps now that you can use to externally control your sim/games

if you have an Ios device http://www.touch-ir.com/ is a pretty good one

[Propnut]

Urban, good point. There is also a free product called "Touch Buddy" http://www.touch-bud...master-faq.html

This is really for touch screen monitors, as you can tie your tablet to the PC as a secondary monitor it will work very well.

Touch buddy allows you to configure a console on the touchscreen to be whatever controls that you would like them to be.

For me, I will just make actual buttons but if you have space limitation or want to use them at your desktop then these type of touch screen options are extremely attractive.

Mechpit Update:

Nothing spectacular has been happening lately.
I did add piping to the pit through which cables, etc are routed (fake). They have warning labels and stripes, etc made from my vinyl cutter. I was thinking of labeling them "Warning Coolant" but who in their right mind would mount boiling coolant lines right above the pilots head?!

Anyway, I have also been piloting from the mechpit more lately, as far as the controllers , etc everything is working very well.

Pictures forthcoming.

[Urban UK]

Propnut, on 16 October 2012 - 06:58 AM, said:

Urban, good point. There is also a free product called "Touch Buddy" http://www.touch-bud...master-faq.html

This is really for touch screen monitors, as you can tie your tablet to the PC as a secondary monitor it will work very well.

Touch buddy allows you to configure a console on the touchscreen to be whatever controls that you would like them to be.

For me, I will just make actual buttons but if you have space limitation or want to use them at your desktop then these type of touch screen options are extremely attractive.

Mechpit Update:

Nothing spectacular has been happening lately.
I did add piping to the pit through which cables, etc are routed (fake). They have warning labels and stripes, etc made from my vinyl cutter. I was thinking of labeling them "Warning Coolant" but who in their right mind would mount boiling coolant lines right above the pilots head?!

Anyway, I have also been piloting from the mechpit more lately, as far as the controllers , etc everything is working very well.

Pictures forthcoming.

nice, looking forward to seeing the pics

on the topic of tablet pc's there also a program called touchdown http://desrat.lightn...hDown/index.php
its basically based a lot on touch buddy, but your profiles are just webpages so you can use it on any device that has a browser.
with the server program being on your pc thats running the game

Edited by Urban UK, 16 October 2012 - 08:00 AM.

[RealityX]

Just like to say that this is a fantastic build log and has inspired me to maybe start my own....pending permission from the finance department

[Propnut]

Thanks RealityX, good to have you follow along and I look forward to following your build thread when you get permission...er...time.

[Propnut]

I spent some time today working on a motion platform prototype. I have the parts to do a 3-Degree of Freedom (DoF) platform using three 24v wheel chair motors. The weight of the mechpit will require fairly hefty springs at each actuator point though. I doubt I will get more than 7-10 degrees of tilt motion, but the speed is pretty good. I did a wooden Sarrus linkage prototype which worked very well indeed.

Here is a similar setup, the example uses bungies for suspension, I plan on using coiled springs (motorcycle over-coils) as many other DIY motion platforms also use this.



EDIT: This one is almost exactly what I am building, with the exception that I am adding springs for load distribution.

http://www.youtube.c...tMjg5x6Gkc&NR=1

Edited by Propnut, 18 October 2012 - 06:31 PM.

[Tartum]

I'm just dumbfounded that you were able to do this in just a few months. I mean... the scale and skill required is so far beyond me I feel like I should type this message while bowing or something.

I mean, I once built a bird house but unfortunately it wasnt up to code and the bird family that moved in was tragically killed when the roof caved in as a passing butterfly farted..... there were lawsuits...

Seriously sir, You skill, your vision, your creation, simply incredible and I truly look forward to the release of this game so that I might have the honor of either fighting by your side or against you. I request you tube videos of your battles when you get a chance.

Also, I would highly suggest naming your pod (If you havent already) as it is a work of art and all art deserves a title. Also, its unlucky to have something like this unnamed. (You mention a wife, what better way to honor her and earn some brownie points at the same time?)

Looking forward to more updates!

-Tartum

[Loc Nar]

Here is a similar setup, the example uses bungies for suspension,

Hey, I know that platform, that's Roland van Roy's! The one in this video is the refined version he made using nice parts/materials after proving concepts with some really creatively cobbled together bits. It has been at the big simulator convention in Europe a few times, and his contributions are well known in the sim world. His cockpit is very (very) lightly constructed to make this able to work though... With your weighty pod the hardware side will be complicated enough, but the motion cuing scheme is a whole 'nother thing since there are no existing motion cues for MWO. The magic behind Roland's pit comes from Ian Hopper from Built For Fun, who makes the parameter extraction driver for the motion cuing. He also developed one for Condor with a little input (and a copy of the sim!). He is a great guy, and might have some constructive advice on making a motion cue extraction script, or some libraries of scripts that can be adapted. A missing ingredient from MWO (which is present in most simulator titles) is a UDP output of all the current relevant parameters, which of course is at the heart of the extraction program...

It is quite possible that Roland is using the circuit I brainstormed up a few years back, which was initially intended for generating a variable L/R error signal in a servo-loop for a control loading (force feedback to the kids...) scheme I devised for my sailplane cockpit. Turns out to be just as useful for the for the motion drive motors, effectively closing the loop on the servomechanism in a simple reliable mechanical way. Before that circuit, his setup was based off an LED/LDR combo, which works too but he describes it as fiddly. He named this circuit a 'dual driven pot', and you are welcome to utilize it for your project if you see fit. The unit he built and tested worked very well, but I'm not sure if he switched his system over. A group from Spain contacted me a while back about using it for some cockpit projects there, which of course made me giddy.